The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for authentication of postage accounting reports. More specifically, the present invention allows the authentication of reports generated from postage accounting data maintained in a general purpose computer.
Historically, postage meters have been dedicated, stand-alone devices, capable only of printing postage indicia on envelopes or labels (in the case of parcels), and resided at a user's site. As such, these devices could provide postage metering only for that particular site and required the user to physically transport the device to a post office for resetting (increasing the amount of postage contained in the meter). These were secure devices which contained mechanical (later, electronic digital) accounting registers that dispensed postage in isolation from other systems (computer and otherwise). An advance over this system was the ability to reset meters via codes communicated to the user. These codes were provided by either the manufacturer or the postal authority, once payment by the customer had been made.
In contrast, modern electronic meters are often capable of being reset directly by an authorized party, on-site (at the user's location) via a communications link. A system which performs meter resetting in this manner is known as a Computerized Meter Resetting System (or "CMRS"). The party having authority to reset the meter and charge the customer (usually the manufacturer or the postal authority) thus gains access to, and resets the meter. Mail accounting data, i.e., detailed accounting of postage expenditures (for example, reports of postage expended by different departments in a company) may be accumulated and read from the more sophisticated electronic meters, but at best the user must still download data in a batch mode or enter it manually into a general accounting system. Moreover, such systems provide no means for authenticating the postage accounting information with regard to the actual values held in the meter.